Introduction
During the First World War, many battles took place. One of them was the Battle of Somme which happened between 1st July and 18thof November in 1916. The battle got its name from the place where it occurred-River Somme in France. Two armies, British and French, were fighting against the Germany army. The battle was planned as French and British operation and it was an attempt to destroy German work force. Joseph Joffre who was in-charge of the French army came up with the idea, which was seconded by General Sir Douglas Haig and British Expeditionary Force commander. The first day of the battle, the British Army sustained thousands of casualties which were approximately 65,000. Historically, this day is deemed to be the worst of all for the British Army. This paper explores the failure of the Battle of the Somme to end the war using an Autobiography, The Sound of the Trumpet, which was written by Stuart Cloete (a young British soldier who volunteered for military service in the First World War and in the late summer).
The incompetence of military planners behind the line
According to Cloete (1973), the staff officers were around fifty to sixty (p.228). However, during the battle, when he rode back to the headquarters in Chateau with a very urgent message, there was only one officer on duty-the rest were playing cricket. For the success of any battle, the officers involved need to be united. However, during this battle, there was no unity within the staff officers thus, they were not readily to take up their positions when needed. The planners allowed young boys to go to Battle instead of competent men. Cloete stated that, “boys from school were pitched into Battle ” (1973, p.238). The boys had not gone through any training to equip them with the skills they would require in the battle. This greatly contributed to the loss of the battle by the British army.
Physical conditions of combat in 1916
There were trenches that were horrendous. They were about seven feet deep and 4-6 feet wide and were sidelined with sand bags. There were also dugouts that provided shelter when fighting was not intense. However, during winter the dug outs would be filled with water, which would seep in through the sides, leaving the troops up to their knees in thick, stinking mud that made movement difficult. ''We had got in after a march of five hours through mud up to our knees’’ (Cloete, 1973, p.230).
Although the dugouts could help the soldiers during the battle, they were dangerous as they were a source of contamination the caused dysentery and trench foot to most of the soldiers.
Nature and shortcomings of available military technology
Although the British and French armies were many compared to their opponents, they were disorganized. According to Cloete, the front line, which is a key area during a Battle, comprised of rough, licentious, foul-mouthed men and lousy soldiers (p.229).
For any group to win in a battle, it should put the strong troops in the frontline and the less competent in the other lines. However, the British army did not consider this.
The captain in the military was illiterate. He was unable to read a map when Cloete was sent to him and to make the matter worse he was in the transport sector (p.229). Transport sector is a key area especially during war and should comprise of people who are literate. Transport line is the only alternative when the communication lines get dysfunctional during a war. Therefore, it should comprise of highly competent and literate individuals.
It is also very sad to note that, the most of the Generals and staff officers were not present during the battle. “He was the only General I ever saw in the line. Nor did I ever see a staff officer” (p.229).There should be no citizens who are loyal to their country be in their comfort zone during war. They should be all in the battlefield for the success of their country. In this case, this may have contributed to the failure of the battle in the side of British Army.
The British and French armies were also very ignorant. This is evident in the instance when they ignored the bodies of the German who were lying behind them. The Germany had disguised themselves by putting on snipers on the corpse so that they could attack their enemies behind. The British and French Army realized that, when several men from their army were already shot dead: they were not alert (p.232).Due to their ignorance they lost several soldiers. Therefore, it is important when in war not to be ignorant of any schemes or tricks the enemy may be using.
However, the British army portrayed some strength. They were able to device a means of attacking their enemies when they realized that their previous tactics were not working effectively. They used tanks to attack their enemies. Although they discovered this trick very late it was very helpful. “We attacked with the tanks and had very heavy casualties as they drew all the fire, which soon knocked most of them out’’ (p.232- p.233). From this experience, it is clear that soldiers should be creative during war because new tricks can be used to destroy their enemies before they know the tactics.
Conclusion
It is true that one man’s words/opinion caused a battle that lasted for two years: a war that led to innocent bloodshed. As discussed above, several aspects led to the loss of the battle as far as the British and French armies are concerned. Besides being disorganized, they were led by some illiterate leaders.
